Apply for a Passport Card

The U.S. Passport Card may be used to enter the United States from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda at land border crossings or sea ports-of-entry and is more convenient and less expensive than a passport book.  The passport card cannot be used for international travel by air.

To increase speed, efficiency, and security at U.S. land and sea border crossings, the passport card contains a vicinity-read radio frequency identification (RFID) chip.  There is no personal information written to the RFID chip.  This chip points to a stored record in secure government databases.

With RFID technology, Customs and Border Protection inspectors will be able to access photographs and other biographical information stored in secure government databases as the traveler approaches an inspection station.

The passport card uses state-of-the art security features to prevent against the possibility of counterfeiting and forgery.  A protective RFID-blocking sleeve is provided with each passport card to protect against unauthorized reading or tracking of the card when it is not in use.

The U.S. Department of State has began production of the U.S. Passport Card on July 14, 2008.  As of March 2010, more than 2,700,000 Passport Cards have been issued to U.S. citizens.

HOW TO APPLY

All U.S. citizens may apply for a U.S. Passport Card.

Use Form DS-82 if you are an adult with a 10-year valid passport. Follow the instruction on this website under Renew the 10-year Validity Adult Passport (click here).  Mark the upper portion of Form DS-82 if applying for the "U.S. Passport Book", "U.S. Passport Card", or "Both".

Use Form DS-11 if you are not eligible to use Form DS-82. Mark the upper portion of Form DS-11 if applying for "U.S. Passport Book","U.S. Passport Card", or "Both".  The following must apply using Form DS-11:

• First Passport Application (For U.S. citizens Age 16 and older)
• First Passport Application (For U.S. Citizens under Age 16)
• Passport Renewal for a Child (Under the Age of 16)
• Passport Renewal for the First Time as an Adult (Age 16 and above) 

PROCESSING TIME AND DELIVERY

In Manila, processing time for the U.S. Passport Card is 4-8 weeks (compared to a U.S. Book which normally takes 2-3 weeks).  If you have an urgent travel and will be departing the Philippines permanently in less than 3 weeks, you may want to consider applying for the U.S. Passport Card in the United States instead.  Note: If you applied for the U.S. Passport Card together with your regular Passport Book, you will be charged for two separate courier fees since the documents will be delivered separately. Delivery is only within the Philippines.  

PASSPORT CARD VALIDITY AND COST